BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1224
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 1224 (Eng) - As Amended: April 14, 2009
SUBJECT : Vehicles: hit and run violations: animals
SUMMARY : Requires a driver involved in an accident resulting in
an injury to a dog, a cat, or livestock to immediately stop the
vehicle at the nearest location that will not jeopardize safety
and comply with specific notification requirements.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a driver involved in an accident resulting in an
injury to a dog, a cat, or livestock to immediately stop the
vehicle at the nearest location that will not impede traffic
or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists and do
the following:
a) Immediately notify a local agency or animal control of
the city wherein the collision occurred or the California
Highway Patrol, if the collision occurred in unincorporated
territory; and,
b) Notify the animal owner or person in charge and provide
the name and address of the driver and owner of the vehicle
involved and upon being requested, provide driver's license
and vehicle registration information.
2)Provides that if a parked vehicle becomes a runaway vehicle
and is involved in an accident resulting in injury to a dog, a
cat, or livestock, the vehicle owner or driver is required to
comply with the above mentioned provisions.
3)Provides that a violation of the above mentioned provisions is
punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars
($100) for a first offense and by a fine of not less than
fifty dollars ($50) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200)
for a second and each subsequent offense.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
resulting only in damage to any property, including vehicles
AB 1224
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to immediately stop the vehicle at the nearest location that
will not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of
other motorists. Specifies that moving the vehicle will not
affect the question of fault.
2)Requires a person to locate and notify the owner or person in
charge of the damaged property and provide the name and
address of the driver and owner of the vehicle involved and
present his or her driver's license and vehicle registration
to the other driver, property owner, or person in charge of
that property.
3)Requires a person to leave in a conspicuous place on the
vehicle or other property damaged, a written notice giving the
name and address of the driver and of the owner of the vehicle
involved, a statement of the circumstances, and notify the
police department where the incident occurred or the
California Highway Patrol, if the collision occurred in
unincorporated territory.
4)Provides that any person failing to comply with all the
requirements of these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction will be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
5)Requires a driver to render to any person injured in the
accident reasonable assistance, including transporting or
making arrangements for transporting an injured person to a
hospital for medical or surgical treatment if needed.
6)Provides that the penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident
resulting in injury is either a felony or misdemeanor,
punishable by 16 months, two or three years in state prison or
up to one year in the county jail and/or a fine between $1,000
and $10,000.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill seeks to "address
an area of law that is not well pronounced or clear, as it
relates to specific guidelines that a driver must abide by in
the event that there is a collision with an animal."
AB 1224
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Under existing law, the driver of any vehicle involved in an
accident resulting only in damage to any property is to
immediately stop the vehicle at the nearest location that will
not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other
motorists and proceed to locate and notify the owner or person
in charge of that property.
If the owner is not present, the driver must leave in a
conspicuous place on the damaged property, a written notice
giving the name and address of the driver and of the owner of
the vehicle involved and a statement of the circumstances
thereof. In both instances, the driver is also required to
notify the police department of the city wherein the collision
occurred without delay.
The author states that current law "provisions do not make its
applicability specific to dogs, cats or livestock, thus there
have been instances where local law enforcement has not applied
current provisions to the injury of animals, as was witnessed in
a recent local case." That incident prompted a constituent of
the author to introduce this proposal, eventually becoming the
author's winner of "there outta be a law contest." The
constituent points out that after informing police of a hit and
run incident involving a dog and providing the license plate
number of the vehicle was told nothing could be done.
Currently, New York state law contains a separate subsection
related to driver reporting guidelines involving collisions that
lead to damaged property and one related to the injury of
animals. In addition to making a distinction between property
and animals, a different fine structure also exist under each
section.
This bill attempts to mirror New York state law by providing for
a separate subsection and fine structure related to the injury
to animals and to the damage of property while driving.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
United Animal Nations
Opposition
AB 1224
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Alejandro Esparza / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093